


A Million Hoops

by Jathis



Category: Sofia the First (Cartoon)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Forgiveness, Gen, Happy Ending, Past Abuse, Rebuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:27:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27844489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jathis/pseuds/Jathis
Summary: The night after In Cedric We Trust; Roland goes to have a talk with his sorcerer.
Kudos: 13





	A Million Hoops

Miranda lay on her side, staring at her husband’s back. The two were lying in bed together, meant to sleep after what he and Sofia said had been a very eventful day. They had told her about the theft of the crown by Cedric’s former raven and the sorcerer’s own rescue of the princess at the risk of his own life.

And yet, Miranda knew something was still bothering her husband and it had nothing to do with the stolen crown.

She reached out, pressing her palm against Roland’s back. “Talk to me,” she said.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not.” She continued to rub his back, waiting patiently for her husband to speak again.

“I...I’ve just been thinking about some things. Old things. Long before you or Sofia came here.” Roland turned over to face his wife, looking tired and miserable. “The thoughts won’t go away.”

“About Cedric?” she gently asked. She gave him a sad smile when he looked surprised at her guess. “I’ve been learning more and more about him since his attempt to take the kingdom. He wasn’t given much support growing up from a lot of people and from what Sofia told me about what happened between him and his sister Cordelia…”

“...he didn’t deserve any of it,” Roland murmured.

“You should talk to him.”

“He was promising to jump through as many hoops as he needed until I was satisfied,” Roland said. He turned onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, a look of distress on his face. “I was angry at the time and not really listening to him but now that I’ve had time to think about it I just…he was  _ begging  _ me for some kind of acceptance.”

“Talk to him. Not as a king or any other Royal. Talk to him like a friend. I saw the paintings; you two used to be so close.”

Roland hesitated, fiddling with the edge of the blanket. He took a deep breath and then let it out slowly, forcing himself to get out of the bed. He changed out of his sleeping clothes into a plain pair of trousers and a loose shirt; he wanted Cedric to know he was coming to him as a man and not a king. He looked up at Miranda as he pulled on his boots, offering her a sad smile. “You are the wisest woman I know,” he said.

Miranda just smiled at him as she said, “you’ll do fine. I know you can do this.”

He shut the bedroom door softly behind himself and started to make his way to Cedric’s room. He waved away any guards or servants who immediately stopped to salute him, assuring them that they could continue without worrying about him. He continued on his way, intent on finding Cedric as soon as he could before his courage left him.

The royal sorcerer’s bedroom was empty. Roland frowned as he stood in the doorway. Nothing inside had been disturbed. It didn’t even look like Cedric had touched his bed, the sheets still folded neatly from when the maids came in the morning. 

He tried Cedric’s workshop next. This too was empty but there were at least signs that Cedric had been there. Roland looked over the work desk and tables covered in open books, seemingly random pieces of paper, and in one instance a thin beaker that he quickly needed to put the stopper in to avoid a fire.

Where could Cedric have gone? Roland was certain that the sorcerer had not left permanently, all of his things were still here including his family’s wand! He frowned to himself as he thought this over, rubbing his chin.

He perked up when a thought came to him and immediately he set off. When he and Cedric had been children there was one place they liked to go to whenever their bloodlines became too much. Roland had stopped going up there shortly after the Incident but that didn’t mean Cedric would have given it up. The thought stabbed Roland in the chest and he winced, shaking his head as he pushed onward. This just added more fuel to the fire of talking to the sorcerer.

As he climbed up the ladder that led to the roof of the tallest tower in the castle, Roland had a brief moment of fear that Cedric could have come up here to hurt himself. His fear was alleviated when he reached the top and found the sorcerer in their old spot, his back facing Roland. He was sitting with his legs hanging over the edge, looking up at the stars and idly sipping from a tankard.

“Cedric.”

Cedric turned around in surprise and quickly set down the tankard as he started to get up. “Your Majesty! What..?”

Roland quickly waved it away, gesturing for Cedric to sit back down. “Not tonight. Just Roland tonight,” he said as he made his way over to the other.

He blinked in confusion but nodded as he sat back down. He watched as Roland sat down beside him, tilting his head. “Roland,” he said, blushing a little at the lack of a title before the name.

“You called me Roland so easily when we were children.”

Cedric cleared his throat, trying to hide his own flustered thoughts from the other. “Yes, well...neither of us are children anymore. You’re the king of Enchancia and I...I’m the royal sorcerer,” Cedric said, turning his attention back to the stars in the sky.

Roland picked up the tankard Cedric had been drinking from, sniffing it before taking a small taste. “Apple juice?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Cedric shrugged, leaning back on the palms of his hands. “It’s far too late for stronger things,” he said.

“I suppose it is.”

“I’m surprised you even remember this place,” Cedric said.

“Why?” Roland asked.

“Roland, you haven’t been up here in years!” he reminded him with a soft laugh. “I thought perhaps your Royal lessons made you forget about it,” he teased.

Roland hummed softly, looking out at the stars with the other. Slowly he built up the courage to speak again, closing his eyes as he focused on his breathing. “Cedric,” he finally said.

“Yes?”

“I came up here because...because I wanted to apologize to you.”

Cedric snorted, waving a dismissive hand in the air. “I am sure I looked very guilty holding the crown aloft and declaring it was mine. Anyone would have thought I was trying to steal it. Sofia did and that girl has faith in everything.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Cedric looked at him in surprise and Roland cleared his throat once more. “I’m sorry for everything. You didn’t deserve any of what you went through. I should have stayed your friend.”

“We were children,” Cedric offered.

“And I allowed the adults around us to dictate who I played with,” Roland countered. “You were my best friend and because of that Incident I...I abandoned you because I didn’t want anyone to whisper about  _ me _ the way they whispered about you. I could have spoken up for you and I didn’t. I know now you didn’t cause the Incident but even if you  _ had  _ that didn’t give those adults the right to speak like that about you. They should have been supporting you;  _ I  _ should have been supporting you.

“I was a coward and I continued your torment after becoming king. I acted like appointing you as royal sorcerer was some kind of obligation because of our fathers’ relationship. I treated you like some kind of cumbersome weight hanging from my neck. An albatross in purple robes.”

Cedric snorted softly at the comparison. “My nose isn’t  _ that  _ beaklike…” he murmured.

Slowly Roland took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he felt them start to sting with unshed tears. “I should have been your friend. I had no right to do any of that to you. I treated you very poorly. I can see now why you wanted to take the crown from me. I think I would have done the same thing if our roles were reversed.

“You don’t have to jump through any more hoops just for my approval. You don’t have to beg for acceptance anymore. I should be the one offering such things to you. I’m sorry.”

Silence hung between the two. The king kept his eyes closed, dreading what he would see when he opened them again. Roland’s words were slowly sinking in, old wounds and transgressions finally said aloud by the one who had committed them.

His eyes opened in surprise when Cedric suddenly pulled him into a tight hug. “Cedric..?” Slowly he held onto the other and he could feel him trembling as he wept.

“I think...I think this is what I’ve always wanted,” the sorcerer wept as his tears fell onto the other’s shirt. “I just wanted you to see. I just wanted  _ someone _ to see what was happening. So many years...so many long years and only an  _ eight  _ year old noticed.”

Roland held the other close, resting his chin on top of his head. “Can you ever forgive me for what I put you through? Is there anything I can do to even begin to earn that?”

Cedric laughed helplessly through his tears. “You already did.” He sniffed as he sat back and wiped at his eyes, smiling at Roland. “Watch the stars with me? Like we used to?”

Roland smiled, reaching out to brush away a stray tear that had clung to Cedric’s cheek with his thumb. “Of course, old friend.”

They stayed up there until the sun started to rise, occasionally talking but mostly enjoying each other’s company in silence. Little by little, the walls that had been built between them started to break.


End file.
